June is the busiest month for festivals in the Region, including the very populate St António, Sao João, and São Pedro.
Quinhentista market opens with fire from the Atlântic.
The month of June has just begun and brings with it a unique opportunity to start the first month of summer with two memorable events on Madeira’s cultural agenda.
For the first time, the Mercado Quinhentista, which takes place in Machico, and the Festival do Atlântico, which takes place in Funchal, will come together in a special collaboration, promising to provide an unforgettable moment.
The Festival do Atlântico 2023 has its official opening scheduled for this Friday, in Machico, precisely on the first day of the 16th edition of the Mercado Quinhentista.
The pyromusical show called “Das Trevas à Luz” will last 20 minutes and will take place in Machico Bay, around 11 pm.
As for the Mercado Quinhentista, a project that began in 2006 and which has already established itself as a tourist attraction in Madeira, starts today in what will be its “biggest and best” edition, in which the main focus will be on the theme “Tristão das Damas” , son of Tristão Vaz Teixeira, who was the second donated captain of the captaincy of Machico.
This year, in addition to the three musical groups, the entire event will total “about fifty groups with more than 650 people” that will perform, over the three days, “almost half a thousand performances of music, theater, dance, acrobats, falconry, fire shows, historical recreation and circus arts.
The opening of doors takes place today at 4 pm, with the presence of the President of the Regional Government, Miguel Albuquerque.
On this day that will be marked by fireworks, there are two more highlights that promise to capture the attention of all visitors. The first will be the Horse Weapons Tournament, which takes place at 7 pm, where the knights will demonstrate all their courage and dexterity in handling the various weapons they had at their disposal, in fighting on horseback and in hand-to-hand combat. The second comes at 9 pm, with the ‘Cortejo das Tormentas’, the disembarkation of the ship.
As for the Festival do Atlântico, which will leave everyone with their eyes on the sky, their long-awaited fireworks shows are back in Funchal, starting on the 3rd of June, and will also take place on the two following Saturdays, the 10th and 17th. As tradition dictates, these presentations will form part of the Madeira International Fireworks Contest and will start at 22:30. Each show will last approximately 20 minutes, providing the audience with dazzling moments of light, color and music.
In this edition of the Madeira International Fireworks Contest, promoted by the Regional Secretariat for Tourism and Culture, fireworks companies from three different countries participate: France, Mexico and Switzerland, which will compete for the coveted ‘Atlantic Trophy’, which will be awarded by a specialized jury, and also by the ‘Madeira Trophy. So Tua’, attributed by the public.
Only 3 Saturdays are mentioned for the fireworks in Funchal, where it has always been the 4 Saturdays, with Portugal always on the last.